Let’s keep it together, People!
It’s hard not panic. For many reasons. Almost a bottomless pit of reasons—a rapidly evolving rabbit hole.
I’m in and out of freaking out that I may have it. I don’t know if my chest gets tight because of the virus of because I’m freaking out which is something that happens to me. I carry almost all my stress in my chest. I wonder if I would know if I had it. When I think I do have it I hope its mild. When I read about the way the virus works the existential panic sinks in and nothing but bleakness fills my consciousness. That’s me being selfish.
Because the real awareness has to be of the realities. Which are hard to wrap one’s brain around because our brains don’t want to do it. Most fears are selfish. ‘What’s going to happen to me.’ Or the selfishness of belligerent fearlessness based in ignorance, ‘I’m not going to get it and even if I do it’s not a big deal.’ In the first example, you very well could be doing all the right things. In the second example, there’s no way you could be doing anything good. In between these examples is just the basic human inability to really absorb what is really happening because it’s never happened and it’s utterly terrifying.
We are all somewhat isolated in our lives outside of the pandemic. We have our circle of people, our work, our bubble. How connected are we really to the bigger picture, whatever picture that may be? We spend a lot of time looking at our phones, divvying up our time, distracting ourselves, prioritizing what info we’ve decided will define our reality. We don’t check in on the dead or dying or hospital workloads in our regular life. It’s something that happens outside of us unless we are sick or someone in our family is sick and even then, its within our personal bubble.
These escalating numbers are not abstract. They are people who are sick with a virus that is highly contagious and everywhere around us. That is the reality whether we can handle it or not. We have to act appropriately in the face of it but also make sure the people in our lives are holding up okay. Check in with your friends and family often. Not about the virus per se, just to approximate closeness and connection, send some love and concern. We can do that now. We have the technology.
Figure out how you can help. Most of the time just managing our lives is all we can do which is fine. Just trying to get my head in the right space of herd mentality and altruism by telling you.
Today on the show I talk to Dan Aykroyd. I try to keep him in the room and not in outer space. On Thursday I talk to a Go-Go. Kathy Valentine talks about her journey in one the most famous and profitable female rock bands ever. Good talks.
Enjoy!
Love,
Maron